My friend and fellow spiritual director trainee Katie Lacz wrote the prayer below for our CFSAW “graduation” ceremony. The impressive thing is that it incorporates the lessons learned by each of the four of us in our cohort during the last 15 months. The even more impressive thing is that she wrote it in like an hour or two before we left our retreat center in Colorado Springs for our last few days together at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Thanks, Katie!
“A Prayer at Our Graduation”
God of many names:
Holy Center,
Amma,
The One Breath Breathing in All Creation,
As your Spirit drew us together we became a cohort,
And as that Spirit moved in us, we became a beloved community.
Your gentle invitation beckons us out of our safe cocoons.
We use our new wings awkwardly, reverently,
trusting your grace to help them unfurl
until we join, transformed, in your cosmic dance.
Grant us the gift of presence, that we may be aware of your heartbeat pulsing
That we may welcome the blessing of Now
That we may see the face of Christ in each person who comes before us.
the gift of our time, ourselves, our loving attention.
May we welcome each person as beloved mystery and guest.
Help us embrace all of the messy, conflicting parts of ourselves
And know that you draw us into wholeness.
Just as your love rushes outward through the cosmos in expansive joy,
May we let your love create spaciousness in us, also.
May we hear you asking, tenderly,
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
